Trip Insurance quandry

[RDC1]

I didn't mean to give the impression that she was "almost certainly not be able to travel". We're still hoping she can, and we fully expected she could when we booked it earlier this month. But after spending the last week with her we're less sure.

 

We're not doctors, nor has she been tested yet. And even if she is in early onset, medications may improve things.

 

While I appreciate the general point that you're raising, this isn't a case where we're pretty sure she can't go. Plus, "cancel for any reason" insurance is usually 3x the price for that very reason -- people use it for any reason. I suspect the insurance companies still have limits and controls on those policies too to prevent egregious gaming of the system. I was just trying to figure out what's typically allowed.

 

Hopefully she will be able to go.

 

I would certainly consider insurance, even if it does not cover the single supplement situation, Australia and NZ is a long way from home if a medical condition should occur and treatment or evacuation (to land or from one of those countries to the US) is needed.

[sail7seas]

Some like to purchase insurance just for peace of mind, and don't care much about the cost. And that's fine for them. For me, the decision on insurance is more just a financial calculation. And the more information I have the better I can make an informed decision.

 

I think we just look at it a little differently. Thank you for your input.

 

I fear you misunderstood my post. I'm not sure I know anyone who 'doesn't much care' about the cost of anything these days. We all 'care'. :) I am retired and a new widow. Thankfully, my DH planned for us but that isn't the point.

 

I had a relative who suffered from alzheimers and I was the person responsible for their care. It isn't as though I didn't live that experience for years..... I did and I know how difficult it is. I also know that many have a very hard time being taken away from their familiar and regular routine and environment. They do not always thrive when taken to new places. This might be something to discuss with her doctor.

 

My best wishes.

 

Edited July 30, 2015 by sail7seas

[hmorrow]

Thank you for sharing that experience (and sorry to hear about your mom). That's about the way I figured it would be too, as cuiseline staff already has their hands pretty full dealing with 2000+ passengers.

 

Our mom (actually my partner's mom) isn't anywhere near that bad yet. She's just forgetting little details. Although hard to predict how she'll be in 7 months. I don't know if drugs really help much or not, but we'll be checking that all out in the coming months.

 

My father had and died from dementia.

All Alzheimer's is dementia, but not all dementia is Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's patients don't just forget " little details."

Goodness, as we age, we all forget little details!

 

Alzheimer patients wander, put milk in the pantry instead of the fridge, wear sweaters in 90 degree weather and so on and so on. Hopefully your mother is just aging and will be perfectly fine to travel, but it really sounds like cancel for any reason is the way to go.

Jmho

Helaine

[Cruising Is Bliss]

Our mom (actually my partner's mom) isn't anywhere near that bad yet. She's just forgetting little details. Although hard to predict how she'll be in 7 months. I don't know if drugs really help much or not, but we'll be checking that all out in the coming months.

 

Not sure what you mean by little details but that doesn't sound like dementia. My mother has advanced Alzheimers and it's been a very long very slow journey from forgetting little details to where she is now.

 

Your partners mother may progress to dementia but early stage memory loss is not it. It's not forgetting what deck your cabin is on, or where you went to high school, Dementia is the difference between not remembering where you left your glasses, and not knowing what the glasses are for.

 

Even with a formal diagnosis, an insurance company would be unlikely to pay benefits without documentation of how specifically the dementia makes her unable to cruise.

 

Some else to take into consideration is that single supplement insurance will not pay HAL directly. The person who is cruising will have to pay HAL the single supplement and then submit a claim to her insurance including proof of payment. If she doesn't have "cancel for any reason" coverage, the insurance company would base their decision on if the person who cancelled did so for a covered reason. Depending on how late the cancellation took place, the person who is cruising might not know until after the cruise if her insurance will actually reimburse her.

 

No matter what you decide to do, wishing you good luck for the best possible outcome for all of you, whatever that turns out to be.

Edited July 31, 2015 by Cruising Is Bliss

[blizzardboy]

I fully understand and my late DH and I always self-insured but for medical care outside the country. We never insured the price of the trip.

 

You have now posted to a public internet forum that you suspect there is a chance one in your party may already be suffering a debilitating illness which may prevent her from traveling but you have not yet purchased insurance. Are you sure she is now insurable seeing research by insurance companies is so simple and maybe a claim could be denied? I am no lawyer nor insurance agent but you are looking to buy insurance for something that may no longer be coverable. I could be totally wrong and have no idea what I am talking about. I do know that were I worried about a $5,400 cabin fare, I would pay the $456 to cover the risk if I felt there was a genuine chance cancellation may be necessary.

 

Good luck and all best wishes. This is a horrid disease and I hope you are able to get good care for her and she does well.

 

 

You should Google Travel Insurance. You can buy all levels of coverage through brokers from cheap to extravagant.

[sail7seas]

You should Google Travel Insurance. You can buy all levels of coverage through brokers from cheap to extravagant.

 

Excellent idea.

When I decided it was time for me to start buying coverage, I researched a number of policies and have found the one that works best for me. I went to the usual sites and picked up the phone and asked the various insurers my questions. :)

When we first started cruising, we bought policies and the premiums were extremely low. When premiums went up, we carefully evaluated the risk/value for us. For well over 70+ cruises, it worked fine for DH and I to only be certain of medical coverage outside the U.S. and evacuation insurance. We were more than willing to self-insure the price of the trip. We were very fortunate to never have to cancel during penalty period and for us, we saved literally tens of thousands of dollars we never paid in cancellation/interruption insurance. Since my DH passed away, it is wise for me to insure my trips now. IMO

 

That is usually the best course.

 

Edited July 31, 2015 by sail7seas

[Serious Cruisers]

My father had and died from dementia.

All Alzheimer's is dementia, but not all dementia is Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's patients don't just forget " little details."

Goodness, as we age, we all forget little details!

 

Alzheimer patients wander, put milk in the pantry instead of the fridge, wear sweaters in 90 degree weather and so on and so on. Hopefully your mother is just aging and will be perfectly fine to travel, but it really sounds like cancel for any reason is the way to go.

Jmho

Helaine

 

You are so right. I used to explain my mom to people as "its not forgetting where she left her sweater, its not knowing what to do with it when she/I found it".

[JJPacer]

Would canceling cabin #4 prior to final payment work? Plan on 3 cabins, and put healthy mom in one of the 3 cabins, should the ill mom not be able to go?

[cruisinjudy]

We dealt with this situation when my mother was still alive. She had dementia of some kind. Her death certificate does say Alzheimer's. I don't know if that was ever specifically diagnosed however. Anyway my mother loved to cruise. After her husband died she still wanted to cruise and she did with a friend, but then we realized we couldn't let her go alone anymore so we planned a week long cruise with family. My mother and my husband's mother would share a cabin.

 

At the time we booked my husband's mother was in better shape so we figured that would work out. My MIL went down fast and ended up passing before the cruise. Totally unexpected. I wish I could remember what kind of insurance we had, but we were told that it would not cover the single supplement. In the end we added my sister to my mother's cabin and we traveled successfully that way. The next time we took her on a cruise we had her sharing our cabin as we didn't think she should be in a cabin alone. Then we decided after that to not take her on cruises anymore as has been said above, it becomes very difficult for them to be in unfamiliar surroundings.

 

It really just depends on how fast her memory goes and what you feel comfortable with.

[Boytjie]

What I don't understand is why the mother hasn't been taken for a medical evaluation yet while all this fretting about insurance is going on? Shouldn't that be the first priority?

[dbsb3233]

What I don't understand is why the mother hasn't been taken for a medical evaluation yet while all this fretting about insurance is going on? Shouldn't that be the first priority?

Because I was asking a cruise-related question like these forums exist for. If I were seeking someone's disapproval over our "priorities" and "fretting" regarding a family matter, I'd have gone elsewhere.

 

As you can tell, I'm a bit offended at your post. I only provided a few minimal details about her situation as background since they pertain to the insurance and travel arrangements. Perhaps that was a mistake.

[dbsb3233]

Would canceling cabin #4 prior to final payment work? Plan on 3 cabins, and put healthy mom in one of the 3 cabins, should the ill mom not be able to go?

Earlier today I did check on prices for a solo inside cabin as compared to two sharing a balcony as we had booked. Found a great price for a cabin just across the hall from us that's virtually the same price for the whole cabin as the per-person price for the balcony. So I booked it with refundable deposit. The other mom said she's fine with that. In fact, I think she likes it a little better as it avoids a slightly awkward room-share.

 

I don't want to hold onto both bookings for too long (doesn't seem right to do that) but we'll assess the situation over the next month and cancel one then. At this point she doesn't think she wants to do the 3-week trip but we'll see what the doctors recommend.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

[cruisinjudy]

Good solution!

[dbsb3233]

We dealt with this situation when my mother was still alive. She had dementia of some kind. Her death certificate does say Alzheimer's. I don't know if that was ever specifically diagnosed however. Anyway my mother loved to cruise. After her husband died she still wanted to cruise and she did with a friend, but then we realized we couldn't let her go alone anymore so we planned a week long cruise with family. My mother and my husband's mother would share a cabin.

 

At the time we booked my husband's mother was in better shape so we figured that would work out. My MIL went down fast and ended up passing before the cruise. Totally unexpected. I wish I could remember what kind of insurance we had, but we were told that it would not cover the single supplement. In the end we added my sister to my mother's cabin and we traveled successfully that way. The next time we took her on a cruise we had her sharing our cabin as we didn't think she should be in a cabin alone. Then we decided after that to not take her on cruises anymore as has been said above, it becomes very difficult for them to be in unfamiliar surroundings.

 

It really just depends on how fast her memory goes and what you feel comfortable with.

Thanks for that story (and sorry to hear about your mom). It is very similar to our situation. It is hard to predict as the situation can change fast. Right now she's certainly capable but the cruise is still 6 months away.

[NMLady]

Anyone have experience in filing a claim with TravelGuard for a HAL cruise? Here's our quandry...

 

We recently booked 4 cabins (8 people) for a Feb 2016 Australia/NZ cruise through a major membership warehouse. Both of our mothers are going (and sharing a cabin). One of them is 76yo with a family history of Alzheimers and increasing bouts of forgetfulness. She has not been diagnosed with Alheimers (yet), but we plan to take her in for testing within a month. We just returned from an Alaska cruise with her and she's getting worse faster than we had realized, and we now have serious doubts whether she'll be able to handle a much longer trip (20 days) in February.

 

So far we've only paid the deposit on the cruise and final payment isn't due until Nov. The deposit is fully refundable. However, canceling the cabin outright would ruin it for the cabinmate, and she can't afford to pay for the full $5400 cabin (i.e. a 100% single supplement).

 

TravelGuard trip insurance for the 76yo would be $176 for the "covered" reasons ($280 more to include "cancel for any reason"). It says it covers single supplement if the other person pulls out for "covered reasons". So all this adds up to a number of questions...

 

1. Would an Alzheimers diagnosis between booking and the trip date be something they would likely accept as a valid claim?

2. I assume we'd need to buy the insurance before any diagnosis (so we don't get hung up on a "pre-existing condition" exclusion)? Or would that not even work?

3. Should we buy the insurance for the 76yo, or for the cabinmate that's would still travel? The "Single Occupancy Benefit" looks like it might cover the other half of the cabin cost (if for a valid medical reason, and within the other allowed parameters).

4. What happens if the diagnosis occurs before the due date of final payment? Will they deny the claim because we could have cancelled the trip with full refund (even though that means the 2nd cabinmate wouldn't be able to go?

 

It's all so confusing. I know the easy answer is just to buy the "cancel for any reason" insurance, but that pushes the insurance cost up to $456 which is awfully expensive. We'd like to get by with just one $176 cost for the covered reasons (if this qualifies).

 

Any help is appreciated.

 

If you want pre-existing condition to be waived you must purchase the insurance within about two weeks of booking. Can't wait until final payment time. Otherwise you will have to buy "cancel for any reason" insurance.

[blizzardboy]

USA TODAY has a piece on their travel site you should read. Here's a link: http://experience.usatoday.com/cruise/story/cruise-101/2015/07/27/plain-truth-cruise-insurance/30737449/

[dbsb3233]

USA TODAY has a piece on their travel site you should read. Here's a link: http://experience.usatoday.com/cruise/story/cruise-101/2015/07/27/plain-truth-cruise-insurance/30737449/

That's a timely article. Thanks.

[Lizzie68]

What I don't understand is why the mother hasn't been taken for a medical evaluation yet while all this fretting about insurance is going on? Shouldn't that be the first priority?

 

I so agree. Reading the thread it does seem the priorities are out of order.

[dbsb3233]

I so agree. Reading the thread it does seem the priorities are out of order.

Not that I need to explain myself to the couple of judgmental people here, but I'm the travel coordinator for our group and I'm the one responsible for making sure the travel arrangements are taken care of. It's offensive for you to pretend like others in her family aren't dealing with her health issues, and shame on you (and the other person) for assuming otherwise.

 

As other (helpful) people have pointed out, travel insurance is often a timely matter than may need to be purchased in a short timeframe after the booking. So EXCUSE ME for coming to a CRUISE TRAVEL forum to ask questions about CRUISE TRAVEL (gee, what was I thinking?).

 

How about this... I won't make judgments about your "priorities", and you don't make judgments (and false assumptions) about mine? (That's as nicely as I can say what I really feel like saying.)

Edited August 1, 2015 by dbsb3233

[sail7seas]

Perhaps the family is waiting to decide what to do regarding insurance before the Mom is taken to doctors for evaluation and diagnosis. To be diagnosed officially and then write insurance could possibly complicate making a successful claim, should a claim have to be made? Again, I am not an insurance agent nor attorney so am only speculating.

 

However, I hope it is helpful to suggest looking at the CC forum that deals specifically with cruises insurance. It might be helpful as there are some very knowledgeable insurance people who post there. Here's a link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=635

 

I'm sorry if the link has already been provided but better twice than not at all. :)

[Jade13]

Interesting the lack of comments about the ethics of this. It is one thing to buy insurance because there is a chance that one might have an issue that prevents traveling.

 

It is quite another to purchase insurance knowing that one will almost certainly not be able to travel and where if the knowledge of the condition was disclosed would be considered to be a preexisting condition. Especially since they can cancel without loss and the whole reason to get the insurance company to pay the single supplement for another passenger.

.

 

Agree

 

Additionally, most Cancel for Any Reason policies (Don't have to give any reason or provide medical records) need to be paid when the deposit was made. There is only one company I know of in the USA that can be paid at final payment and it is expensive.

 

HAL's policy will not cover the single supplement of the other person in the cabin as has been pointed out previously.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Jade13

[dbsb3233]

Perhaps the family is waiting to decide what to do regarding insurance before the Mom is taken to doctors for evaluation and diagnosis. To be diagnosed officially and then write insurance could possibly complicate making a successful claim, should a claim have to be made? Again, I am not an insurance agent nor attorney so am only speculating.

 

However, I hope it is helpful to suggest looking at the CC forum that deals specifically with cruises insurance. It might be helpful as there are some very knowledgeable insurance people who post there. Here's a link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=635

 

I'm sorry if the link has already been provided but better twice than not at all. :)

That's partially it, although we definitely weren't waiting to get her in for testing. It's really the other way around - as the travel coordinator, I was rushing to try and figure out the available options before her appointment next week just in case an official diagnosis (if that's what happens) might factor into things.

 

As it turns out, we're almost sure now that she's not going on the trip, so finding a solo inside cabin at the same price as it would have cost each to share a balcony made all of this moot. That's the way we'll proceed and I'm not looking at insurance anymore.

 

Thank you for that link, and to those that provided constructive information.